Morning Edition

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88.5-1

Monday - Friday

5:00 am

Monday - Friday

6:00 am

Monday - Friday

6:50 am

Monday - Friday

8:00 am

Waking up is hard to do, but it's easier with NPR's Morning Edition. Hosts Renée Montagne and Steve Inskeep present the day's stories and news to radio listeners on the go. While they are out traveling, David Greene can be heard as regular substitute host. Matt McCleskey and the WAMU news team bring the latest news from the Washington Metro area. Jerry Edwards keeps an eye on the daily commute. Morning Edition provides news in context, airs thoughtful ideas and commentary, and reviews important new music, books, and events in the arts. All with voices and sounds that invite listeners to experience the stories.

Monday, December 23, 2013

Officials in Oregon have kept records on what happened to thousands of people who lost their jobs when RV manufacturing in that state imploded during the recession. A major swath of people have dropped from middle-wage earners to low-wage earners, which is a trend we're seeing across the U.S. Another group of people did even worse.

Japan's constitution has banned a military force since the end of World War Two, but Prime Minister Shinzo Abe recently proposed a tough new national security strategy. David Greene talks to Tamzin Booth, Tokyo bureau chief for The Economist, about Japan's defense initiative.

David Greene talks to Liza Mundy about her article "The Daddy Track." In The Atlantic magazine, she writes about how women benefit when men take paternity leave. Mundy is a program director at the New America Foundation, a non-profit, nonpartisan think tank that focuses on a variety of issues.

The lead designer of the world's most popular firearm has died. Mikhail Kalashnikov, who helped invent the AK-47, was 94. David Greene talks to New York Times reporter C.J. Chivers, and author of The Gun, about the myths surrounding Kalashnikov and the weapon he made famous.

The United States is trying to broker a political solution between the combatants in South Sudan where violence threatens to explode into civil war. The fighting is between forces loyal to President Salva Kir and those who follow Kir's former deputy, Riak Machar.

British mathematician Alan Turing, who cracked the Nazi code during World War II, has been pardoned posthumously. He committed suicide in 1954 after being convicted of "gross indecency" with another man. David Greene talks to British MP Iain Stewart, who led the push to get Turing pardoned.

Last week, we asked Morning Edition listeners to send us their renditions of "Deck the Halls." We received hundreds of recordings — as both audio and video — from all over the world, and we created one glorious carol.

All of Santa's reindeer have gotten the green light from the Agriculture Department to enter U.S. territory. The USDA granted Mr. S. Claus a special livestock permit. And in the spirit of Christmas, the department waived the normal application fees and disease testing requirement for his reindeer.

A midnight deadline to sign up for health coverage under the Affordable Care Act that starts Jan. 1 has been extended by a day. The White House describes the extension as an effort to accommodate people in different time zones.

Russian artist Viktor Ivanov has created a teddy bear out of chicken meat, covered in chicken skin, with olives for eyes. British chef Simon Hulstone uploaded a photo of the meaty teddy and tweeted that he intends to serve it to his kids for Christmas dinner.

A man in the Texas Panhandle blundered after allegedly breaking into a vehicle. He doubled back to retrieve the cellphone he left behind. Police tracked him down — not through the GPS data from his phone — but from his footprints in the snow.

Sunday, December 22, 2013

Target is trying to get back in good graces with its customers after a massive data breach affecting some 40 million credit and debit account holders. The giant retail chain offered its customers a 10 percent discount over the weekend as an act of atonement, but business was said to be down anyway.

TV ads and websites are all well and good, but Colorado is finding that face-to-face help from a live person is often the best way to reach the uninsured and sign them up for a health plan. Still, it isn't easy, and takes time and money.

Unless the erratic bursts of energy generated on a windy or sunny day can be stored and later measured out in an even way, these renewable sources of power can't be counted on to stabilize the electrical grid. Several battery-making startups hope to help — and reduce electric bills.

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